Thai holiday for pets nothing to sniff at
Subtitles by Hu Min.
When some 20 dogs departed from Pudong International Airport this week, they quickly captured people's attention.
They boarded on a flight with their owners to Bangkok and Pattaya.
The chartered tourist flight, the first of its kind in the nation, took off from Pudong International Airport on Thursday, carrying some 30 Shanghai tourists with their pets. It arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport safely in Bangkok at 11:30pm Beijing time.
These 20 special "passengers" are now enjoying a long vacation lasting nine days with their owners.
A fun tour in Thailand.
They can run freely in tropical jungles, roll and play around on sandy beaches and even sink their teeth into Thai delicacies at night markets.
The hotels included in the tour are all pet-friendly with amusements and bathing facilities for pets and various dog food.
"I am super excited," said a pet owner surnamed Liu. "I think my dog would be lonely at home and I want to take it out for a relaxing journey."
Another tourist surnamed Zhou added: "I have never traveled abroad since four years ago after I raised a pet. I only drove my pet to Guangdong Province from Shanghai and the tour is a surprising delight."
Fun for pets in the surf.
"I have carried a very big suitcase stuffed with items for the pet," she said. "I am really expecting to travel and enjoy the sea and sunset view abroad together."
Another tourist surnamed Zhang added: "I have taken my pet for rabies antibody and blood tests in advance and he had insect repellent a week prior to the trip".
With the outbound travel market gaining momentum and a steady increase of pets in China, pet-friendly travel demand has emerged, triggering the birth of such program, which was jointly hosted by Boehringer Ingelheim and pet service platform iBabyGO.
Pets need to have identification, vaccination, and health certificates and undergo quarantine inspection before the trip. Owners need to pay close attention to the safety and health conditions of their pets during outdoor journey and avoid parasitic infestation.
Dogs get to enjoy the lawn.
Boehringer Ingelheim provided de-worming support for the journey and its health experts gave some tips to pet owners before the trip.
"Pay attention to water intake in a humid environment," said Chen Nianzi, an animal health expert. "We have prepared health tips and observed pets' health conditions before the journey."
A pet owner surnamed Miao added: "I think Shanghai leads the nation in pet-friendly environment development. My pet sat alongside with me on board, which makes me relieved giving consideration to its safety and the experience of pet owners.
"My pet is like my family members and I hope to stay with it through the whole journey."
Miao has traveled gone with his pet, Rou Ba, seven years old, to Guilin, Sanya and XIshuangbanna so far.
"But it is our first outbound tour together," he said. "We have conducted some training like stress training and safety training and learned local customs and taboos before the trip."
A beach resort.
Enjoying the fine weather.
A dog waits for boarding.
Islands in the sea.
A dog waits for boarding.
A dog enjoys the scenery.
A furry ball of fun.
A health check before departure.
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